Smoke Control Areas

Smoke control areas (SCAs) apply to smoke from chimneys. In these areas it is an offence to emit smoke from a building, to obtain and use solid fuel (other than authorised fuel), sell solid fuel (other than authorised fuel) for use in premises located within an SCA. There are some exceptions, for example, where the fuel is authorised by the SCA (Authorised Fuels) Regulations, the fuel is being burnt on a fireplace exempted by an SCA (Exempted Fireplace) Order or if the building or fireplace has been exempted by conditions specified by the local authority. If you would like to check if you are in an SCA see the 'My Property' section of AVBC's website. Complaints of smoke in an SCA are investigated by the Pollution Section.

SCAs do not restrict bonfires, only smoke from chimneys. The 'My Property' page on this website will show if a property is in an SCA. Copies of the Smoke Control Orders can be found under the 'Related Documents' section of this page. Please note that these are copies of the original documents, where they could be found, and whilst new addresses may not be specifically mentioned, they are included in the control areas, as can be seen in the attached updated maps.

Exempt appliances and fuels that can be used in SCAs can be found via the links under the 'Related Documents' section to the right of this page.

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